Megayachts

The Evolution of Style

It’s one thing to read all about changes made to a yacht in the planning or even the construction stage. But how about seeing changes to the design before the first piece of fiberglass is laid or steel is cut? As the profiles here from the drawing boards of Laurent Giles Naval Architects show, about the only thing that didn’t change with this design was the yacht’s expeditionary flair.

The design, dubbed 6H and still being shopped around, started out with four decks and measured about 148 feet (see style A). During the course of eight months of research, design, and development in collaboration with Peter Insull’s Yacht Marketing, which often advises owners during the commissioning process, it ended up as a nearly 171-footer with almost twice as much accommodation space and a much different profile (see style B and C, then the final design).

The most dramatic changes are at the bow and the stern. In style A, for example, the bow has a bit of a reverse angle, which lessened and ultimately disappeared through the next two evolutions; interesting enough, not only did it reappear in the final design, but it did so radically. Equally interesting is how the stern transformed from a traditional cockpit-like setup into a gentle slipper style, a signature element of a Laurent Giles yacht.

Closely examine each yacht, and you'll see changes both big and small.

And the interior volume benefited from all those exterior changes. Occupying about 262 square feet of the main deck, the owner’s suite includes, among other things, an office with a private day head (in addition to separate bath and shower rooms closer to the bedroom). And the guest accommodations—with room for ten friends/family and two personal assistants/nannies/etc.—are all one deck up, not down, extending the full 34-foot beam and adjacent to the saloon and theater.

The final incarnation of project 6H blends shippiness with yacht flair.

Down The Ways

Two years after new ownership stepped in, Broward Marine seems to be going full steam ahead. Not only did it debut a 120-footer featuring an on-deck master at the Miami Yacht & Brokerage Show in February, but also that same week it announced clients had filled its next two construction slots. Taking the first slot, for a 120 with walkaround side decks, was Florida resident and lifelong boater Stanley Ginsburg. An unidentified European owner took the second slot, for a 124-footer with a side-opening tender garage.

Speaking of tenders, XSMG Marine of England has launched a super-fast 48-footer that’s apparently catching the eye of a few superyacht owners. Painted silver, the bullet-like XSR48, christened No Boundaries, reportedly tops 90 mph thanks to twin 800-hp Isotta Fraschini diesels and a lightweight Kevlar and carbon fiber monocoque hull. Some of the top names in the yacht business, including Fabio Buzzi (hull design) and Redman Whiteley Dixon (interior design), were involved in her development.